Branching In
by Velvetblight Belial
Summary: Sugu learns about soil reclamation.


_ALfheim Online version 5.7.3948 update_

 _Release notes: Golem race is now playable. Stop sending us hate mail._

* * *

Kirito didn't want anything to do with it. Lisbeth still cried about it from time to time. Asuna had taken the loss fairly well once she cooled off, but she had only been using her alt when it happened. Everyone else who had been in their party on that fateful day simply moved on and either started new characters from scratch or dropped the game completely.

Suguha was the first one in her group to be a little more open-minded. She liked playing as her newer character, Flora, but she always missed playing as Leafa after losing all the hard work she had put into her. The hardest thing was when she would fight Treegion with her new party and she would sometimes come face to face with her twisted former self. She saw the new ALO update as a second chance to bring Leafa back to life, even if it wasn't quite the same character she remembered.

When the update finished installing, a tenth option labeled "GOLEM" appeared on the list of playable races. Suguha picked this new option and read the description.

 _\- GOLEM -_

 _Born from one of the nine kingdoms. Reborn from the dark underworld. These magically animated beings are made from the pulverized remains of fallen warriors harvested by the Death Lord Treegion. They are both feared for their grotesque nature and adored for their otherworldly allure._

 _Golems have no fixed starting level and do not go through the standard Character Creation process. All playing stats are carried over from the character being reclaimed. This race is unavailable to first-time players._

Suguha selected her character menu, scrolled past Flora's familiar icon, and saw something that made her turn her eyes away from her visor. It was there every time she loaded the game, and she had never gotten used to it. The icon for her second character was a screenshot of a light-haired Sylph in an unflattering position. The image only showed her from the shoulders up, but she was obviously nude. She was completely submerged in liquid and bubbles were floating out of her open mouth. One eye was clenched shut. She had her fingers raised to her mouth. Her head was slightly rolled back. Her face was tinted with a deep blush from the strawberry nectar soaking into her skin.

Suguha recognized the screenshot as a terrified, helpless Leafa a mere second before being squashed into a pulp and having her biomatter used in the creation of a new zombie thrall. To anyone who didn't know the full grisly context, it probably looked like something very different was happening to Leafa.

The image was filtered in a stylistic grayscale with large red letters printed across.

 _PENALTY: LIQUIDATED_

But there was a new button just below the degrading kill shot. It was an image of a tiny cartoon grim reaper pulling a tiny cartoon ghost out of a tiny cartoon tree. When Suguha clicked the button, a message appeared.

 _EXPEL THIS TAINTED SOUL FROM THE ABYSS AND RECLAIM AS YOUR OWN? YES / NO_

Without hesitating, Suguha clicked YES _._

The file portrait changed into something more tasteful: Leafa rendered as a Treegion minion made of dark tree sap and colorless plant soil. She was smiling contently into the camera. The black flower-shaped braid in her charcoal hair framed the back of her head. Her dark complexion made her look like a living shadow.

Suguha loaded the file for the new character.

* * *

Black bubbles floated in front of Leafa's eyes as she gradually awakened. Her life meter showed she had ? ? ? HP, and the word "PROVISIONAL" was flashing through her name in red. She broke through the surface of the murky water and took her first voluntary breath in months.

Standing waist-deep in Treegion's sap, she looked down at herself. Her body felt warmer than she was expecting, but there was no question to her wretched physical state. The only clothing she wore was her discolored flower-shaped hair decoration. Her healthy pink flesh was gone and had been replaced with black soil that merely mimicked the texture of skin. The Sylph had been captured, ground into pulp, and brought back from the dead as a Golem made purely of enchanted soil and tree sap. She was surrounded by a handful of other players from other races who were just waking up in the same decrepit condition as her.

"Ugh. They really did a number on you, Leafa," she murmured sadly to herself.

A large holographic text box appeared a few inches in front of Leafa to welcome her to new existence. Her soft glowing amethyst eyes shifted back and forth and blinked as she read through the text.

 _RULES FOR PLAYING AS GOLEM RACE:_

 _\- Starting stats determined by original character's stats at moment of Liquidation. Experience rate remains the same._

 _\- Standard inventory disabled. Small quest items can be absorbed into character's body for storage. Weight limit determined by Golem size.  
_

 _\- Currency system disabled._

 _\- Healing items, healing spells, and food from other players no longer have any effect._

 _\- Golems cannot stay at Town Inns overnight. They are only able to sleep in the Treegion Compost Zone._

 _\- Golems are not recognized as natural lifeforms and thus cannot seek guidance from any Church._

 _\- Earth-based spells now have secondary healing effect on player._

 _\- Flight duration is extended by three times the player's original limit._

 _\- Fast Travel is always enabled. Travel points may be added or removed based on player feedback._

 _\- Golem players will always respawn in Treegion Compost Zone if defeated. Accumulated experience points are carried over like normal._

 _\- PLUTOSYNTHESIS PROCESS IS IRREVERSIBLE. Your character will remain a member of the Golem race for the entire duration of your game. Heal, Cure, Remove Curse, Unpetrify Flesh, Cleanse Soul, and all similar skills will have no effect on your character's physical state._

Scrolling through the fine print, Suguha started to read about some of the more drastic changes Leafa's body had gone through.

 _WEAKNESSES:_

 _Depletion: Similar to VAMPIRE status in non-Golem races. The spiritually-charged clay your character is composed of gradually loses moisture when exposed to intense heat and sunlight. If the player allows this to continue for an extended period of time (determined by Soil Quality icon on the player display), Soil Quality will drop to Infertile and the player's body will instantly decompose into dust. Player should periodically visit Compost Zone and remoisturize to avoid sudden disintegration and respawning._

 _Erosion: Acid and Fire attacks quickly break down the magical bonds that hold your character's body together. Golems take 50% more damage from these elements._

 _Permafrost: Ice-based techniques are 40% more likely to give your character Freeze status. Character's Soil Quality will immediately drop two tiers when status effect wears off._

 _PASSIVE EFFECTS:_

 _One with Nature: Forest, Earth, and Swamp-based enemies will never attack player unless specifically provoked._

 _Undying Love: Golem characters are unable to engage in battle with Treegion._

 _Dirt Cheap: 100% immunity to virtually all curses, diseases, and physical afflictions. Character is still susceptible to Parasite and Mushroom Spore infections._

 _Sculptor's Seal: Powerful necromancy magic is the only thing that keeps your character animated as an undead Golem. Character's appearance will always be identical to Liquidated character as a consequence of their demise. Appearance cannot be manually changed by player._

 _Natural Fragrance: Golem characters can make themselves more Attractive or Repulsive (player's preference) by adjusting their soil scent. Settings range between Potpourri and Rotting Weeds. Please see Status Screen options for the complete range of choices._

 _WARNING:_

 _Although Golem players are granted a great deal of freedom, they are still artificial beings bound to their creator. Every time Treegion uses the Summon Thralls skill during a battle, it will randomly select names from a list of every Liquidated player on record to serve as its minions. If you are online when your name is selected, you will receive an alert telling you to return to the Compost Zone and join the battle against the attacking party (normal PvP rules apply). If you agree to help Treegion, your character will always be preserved regardless of the outcome of the battle. If you ignore the summons and that instance of Treegion is defeated, your character will be PERMANENTLY EXORCISED. The Plutosynthesis curse will wear off and the character's body will instantly crumble to dust. Your record will be deleted from all servers. Your character will never respawn in any form. Play with extreme caution._

Tsuguha sighed and shook her head. The balancing system for Golem characters was unique, to say the least. Some of the things she was reading actually sounded pretty beneficial, but there were so many catches involved. She would have to get used to a lot of changes if she wanted to bring Leafa anywhere close to her former self, but she was willing to make it work.

Leafa started to walk through the murky tree sap. She stopped when she heard a loud rustling sound behind her. One of Treegion's smaller arms descended to her and dropped a small object into her hand. It was about the size of a sunflower seed.

An info box appeared and reflected off her dim amethyst eyes.

 _Treegion Vitamins: Supplementary item. Only effective on Golem race. One-time use. Character is able persist outside of the Compost Zone in exchange for accepting a portion of Treegion's life force._

Leafa quickly put together what it meant. The seed was a sort of User Agreement between herself and Treegion. The monster would allow her to travel to anywhere in the ALfheim world while still keeping her tied to its will. Alternatively, she could just hand the seed back. She could play as a Golem character who always lived in the soil pit and specialized in fighting any players who were courageous enough or stupid enough to approach Treegion.

Leafa hated camping, and she thought the idea of PvPing all day would be boring. She was an adventurous Sylph-Golem who wanted to explore the world. The choice came easily for her.

"Here goes nothing," Leafa said to herself. She nervously shrugged her bare shoulders, closed her eyes, and put her palm to her mouth. The tiny clay muscles in her neck flexed gently as she swallowed the seed.

A massive violet aura appeared around Treegion, followed by a much smaller aura around Leafa. Leafa's life meter returned to normal and showed she had the same amount of HP as when she was a living Sylph made of flesh and bone. Her status changed to "RELEASED" in green before disappearing completely. Treegion was letting her go.

Leafa's toes touched dry ground for the first time since her grueling death. She took a few more steps until something forced her to stop. It was as if she had walked straight into an invisible wall.

A bright red alert message filled Tsuguha's entire visor.

 _CAUTION: Leaving censorship-free playing area. Please wait. Trimming character "Leafa" to basic Moral Code standards._

Leafa's body slightly changed shape. Her nipples retracted and disappeared so her breasts became one continuous oily color. Her pubic brush thinned out as her lower petals sealed shut, hiding her intimate anatomy and leaving smooth skin between her legs. Startled by the changes, Leafa twisted her waist and looked over her shoulder. The only part of her body that was still being shown off in its full, unadulterated glory was her dimpled backside.

 _Moral Code regulations in place. Would you like to make changes permanent? YES / NO / DISABLE THIS MESSAGE AND ALWAYS USE AREA-SPECIFIC CENSORING_

Tsuguha clicked YES. Despite the sudden bizarre transformation, Leafa seemed to act relieved. She was almost starting to feel normal again.

Once she was out of the combined battle area and graveyard, Leafa opened her playing menu. Expanding the world map, she saw a new area available in her race's home territory: PHANTASMA ROTUNDA. It was the optional training area for Golem players, where they could hone their newly imbued powers.

She clicked on the map to activate the Fast Travel function. A single Treegion root erupted from the ground underneath her, curled over her like a spiral shell, and gently descended back into the earth.

Leafa re-emerged in a fighting arena styled as a massive gothic pottery wheel. Another menu appeared and gave her three difficulty options:

 _NOVICE ZOMBIE_

 _JOURNEYMAN SPIRIT_

 _EXPERT WRAITH_

She picked the highest setting. As a Sylph, she had gotten close to maxing out her experience and could win a majority of arena battles playing solo. As a Golem, she wanted to see if she could pick up where she had left off.

She made a motion as if she were drawing an invisible sword from her hip. Focusing the arcane powers that animated her body, a massive thorn shaped like an organic katana grew in her fist.

The first wave of monsters was nothing for her. She was surprised at how easily she cut through her targets and started to wonder if she had actually become too powerful as a Golem.

The second wave was an assortment of airborne creatures. When she activated her Flight ability, four slimy earth-colored beetle wings appeared on her back instead of the elegant green wings she had possessed as a Sylph. The larger wings seemed faster but more awkward to control than she was used to, and she ended up taking a few points of damage as she fought.

The next waves saw enemies grow incrementally larger and attack in more complex groups. She disabled her wings so she could recharge her Flight skill and returned to fighting on the ground. At one point, she slipped on her oily bare feet and almost crashed face-first in the center of an enemy mob. She was too used to the traction her Sylph boots used to provide.

Her health bar gradually whittled down to half its capacity. She caught a few minor heals by allowing herself to be hit by Earth spells, but she wasn't regenerating HP quickly enough. Now she was regretting not being able to simply drink a healing potion like a normal living character.

The mid-boss of the Expert gauntlet was a massive scorpion-like creature. Leafa's thorn katana barely did any damage against its thick hide, and she didn't have the balance to avoid its lightning-quick attacks.

Her HUD flashed orange. She had less than 30% HP left.

She activated the Flight skill again. Dodging several attacks from the monster's stinger, she started losing control of her wings and accidentally banked sideways.

The scorpion swung one of its pincers through the air while Leafa was struggling to reorient herself. It snipped straight through her unarmored waist.

Leafa's HP instantly dropped to zero. Her world turned red. For a brief moment, she felt herself falling in one direction while she watched the lower half of her own body fly away and dissolving into plant food. A GAME OVER message abruptly cut off her vision.

* * *

Black bubbles floated in front of Leafa's eyes as she gradually awakened. Lifting her head out of the sap, she found herself back in the soil mound nestled between Treegion's roots. Her health meter was full again and her body had been melded back together in one piece.

Leafa shook her head to get some crumpled mulch out of her hair. She was grumbling to herself as she walked out of the putrid mud. It was going to be a while before she got used to her new body.


End file.
